Shareholder & Partnership Disputes

• Shareholder Disputes
• Partnership Disputes

Shareholder & Partnership Disputes Solicitor in Leicester

Are you looking for an expert in Shareholder Disputes & Partnership Disputes? I’m a solicitor and have dealt with hundreds of business disputes and every time I strive to provide:

• Plain English Advice
• Time – to understand your situation and all that you’re faced with
• Results – getting you the best possible result
• Value – fixed fees for your certainty where possible
• Convenience – meetings by phone, video call or in-person at a time to suit you.

What is a shareholder dispute?

Shareholders are the people (or Companies) which own shares in a Company. They can be investors, but most likely in small business, they are the same people as the directors. You may not even realise that you’re a shareholder and a director at the same time, although it’s like wearing two different hats.

Many of the shareholder disputes that I have seen are in reality business owner disputes or director disputes. In short, a dispute between the two (or more!) people who run and control the company.

A shareholder dispute is where two or more people running a business are no longer in agreement, which could be:

• deadlock in decisions
• one wants to do one thing, the other doesn’t
• there’s a falling out / arguments
• conflict of personality
• death of a shareholder / spousal shareholders

If you have a falling out and cannot reach decisions in the business, or just don’t like each other anymore, then get in touch.

I’ve acted for majority shareholders, minority shareholders and directors. Many of the shareholder disputes we have dealt with can be settled by negotiation, but sometimes such disputes require quick and effective legal action – injunctions and court claims. As a client you’ll benefit from the fact that I can respond very promptly, deal with matters efficiently and am experienced and recommended.

I will start by looking at your Company Articles of Association and any Shareholders Agreement that you have in place. It is important to understand these and the Companies Act 2006. I’ll also need to look at things like Pre-Emption Rights.

What is a Partnership Dispute?

A partnership dispute is a dispute between two or more business owners, where their business is not a limited company.

Partnership Disputes fall into two main categories:

1. Partnerships with a written Partnership Agreement
2. Partnerships without a written Partnership Agreement

Most partnership disputes that I see are those without a written partnership agreement. This means that the Partnership Act 1890 will apply, and it is really important that you understand what this means. In short, it means that the law will assume that the partnership was a 50/50 split of profit and assets.

Why use me as your Shareholder & Partnership Disputes Lawyer?

Steven Mather is a very experienced litigation solicitor having dealt with hundreds of disputes. If you’re in a shareholder or partnership dispute, you’ll want a great negotiator but also someone who can act quickly and robustly making Court applications where necessary.

I qualified as a solicitor in 2008 and I have helped minority shareholders, majority shareholders, family shareholders, partners, husbands/wives as partners across a wide range of business types. I will almost certainly have experienced a case like yours, so get in touch for expert shareholder dispute advice from a solicitor you can trust.

Recent examples of shareholder/partnership disputes

Here’s a sample of the kinds of shareholder & partnership disputes Steven has dealt with recently:

• Family Shareholding Dispute for Wealthy Asian Family worth circa £20 million
• Partnership dispute between two married Gentlemen involved in a cleaning business
• Partnership agreement in a small building/construction business
• Dissolution of a Partnership where terms were agreed
• Partnership dispute for a 2-firm Solicitors Practice in Nottingham
• Advice on minority shareholding for an employee
• Shareholder dispute for 50% shareholder in local fire door company
• plus much more.

How much do shareholder & partnership disputes cost?

There is quite a wide range in costs, as it depends on the value, complexity and other party’s actions. The following costs are estimates only, and do not include disbursements such as Court Fees, Experts or Barristers costs. You will be given a bespoke estimate or fixed fee when we discuss your case.

Generally, your first step will be to take advice on your position. Advice will cost around £300-1000 plus VAT depending on how complex the matter is.

Thereafter, we would suggest a Letter of Claim to your co-shareholder or co-partner, which is likely to cost around £600-1500 plus VAT.

If the other party is amenable, I would try to explore settlement probably through mediation. This is likely to cost around £1500-4000 plus VAT plus fees for the Mediator which are likely to be £750-3000 plus VAT.

In most cases, I would suggest an independent expert valuation of the business is carried out, so that you know how much your interest in the business is. I can recommend accountants that can do this.

If the matter was to proceed to Court, then you could expect legal fees to be around £15,000-£50,000 plus VAT plus disbursements such as Court fees and Barristers fees.

Next Steps

If you’re unsure on the question of fees, or on any aspect of shareholder/partnership disputes then speak to our litigation solicitor Steven Mather.

Just fill in the form on the side of this page, or give us a call to discuss further.